


Reflection of You

by Gemstar24



Series: The Reflection Series [2]
Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan)
Genre: Abuse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Physical Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 16:35:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16391273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemstar24/pseuds/Gemstar24
Summary: Harley is beautiful, no one could deny that. However, The Joker is a jealous man. He decides to solve the issue at hand the only way he knows how, but Harley's life will change forever. Prequel to Don't Touch - Second in the Reflection Series





	1. Chapter 1

"Harl. HARL!"

Harley shifted in bed as she heard The Joker startle her out of a peaceful slumber. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in his direction. He was standing with his back to her as he faced the vanity mirror above the dresser. He was applying white greasepaint.

She slowly sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "Good morning, Pud'.'", she yawned.

He looked into the mirror at her reflection and grinned. "Its afternoon, baby." He pointed a finger at his face, "Uh, you have a little...", and moved his finger in a circle. Her hand flew to her face and wiped at her cheek.

"Did I get it?"

"Uh, yeah.", he looked back at his reflection and started applying black around his eyes.

She brought her knees to her chest and watched as he pulled on a light blue paisley dress shirt over his shoulders followed by his green waistcoat. He turned and crooked his finger indicating for her to come closer. She quickly jumped out of bed and walked to him. She started buttoning his shirt for him as he lit a cigarette. He pushed her hair from her neck behind her shoulders and ran his fingers through it.

"I need you to be ready to go out tonight."

Her bright blue eyes widened and she smiled. He almost never brought her out with him. She was usually left alone all day while he worked. Well, she wasn't always alone, he usually left one or two henchmen to babysit her. Sometimes she wouldn't see him until early morning when he stumbled into bed to sleep for an hour or two.

"Are we goin' on a date, daddy?", she bounced around on the balls of her feet.

"Mmm, yeah I guess you could say that. It's a dinner with a lot of un-respect-able people. Wear something nice for me, would ya?"

She squeaked, "I'm so excited!"

"Good girl." He blew out some smoke. "I gotta get to work. Be ready to go by 8:30. Not a minute later or I'll leave without you." He gave her a stern look.

She finished tying his tie as he reached for his holster. She lifted his suit coat onto his shoulders. She gave him a big-eyed look as he extinguished his cigarette. He squinted at her then wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her to him and gave her a long, messy kiss, smudging his red lips. He walked out the door as he started yelling orders to his men.

Harley looked into the vanity mirror and gasped. She had his greasepaint smudged all over her face and neck from the night before. She giggled to herself as she put on her pink silk robe and made her way to her private bathroom. The henchmen weren't allowed to use her space so she made it her own with all her scents, potions, and fluffy towels. She turned on the shower and slid off her robe, hanging it on the hook. The room started to get steamy as she turned to the mirror. The Joker took pleasure in marking her as his own. Her body covered in raised pink and white scars spelling out: "Mine", "J", and the most prominent, "PROPERTY OF JOKER" which took up the entirety of her back. He absolutely despised when other men looked at her. She belonged to The Joker and to him only. Harley didn't mind the markings. She enjoyed belonging to her Puddin'. She knew he was only trying to protect her from people with bad intentions toward her. At first she didn't like the pain that came from his various knives. But as she got used to it, she was able to find pleasure in the pain. He often marked her during sex which made each impression special to her.

She stepped into the shower and as she lathered up, she took extra care of the mark she received last night: a small J on her right hip. She cleaned the dried blood around the newly formed scab. Her entire body was a tapestry of his ownership of her, except her face was clear. Aside from an occasional bruise or busted lip, he never showed any interest in scaring her beautiful face.

Clean and smelling like vanilla, she stepped out of the shower and dried off. Slipping her robe back on she left the bathroom to make her way back to the bedroom. Her closet was full of clothing she never wore. Since The Joker rarely let her out of their home, she usually dressed in yoga pants and tank tops. But tonight, she was going to get dolled up.

At 8:15 she heard him yelling, "Harley! Let's go!" He threw the bedroom door open just as she was putting a diamond stud into her ear. Her blonde hair was curled into tight ringlets falling at the nape of her neck. She turned from the vanity mirror and her smokey eyes looked up at him. "It's, uh, time-", he trailed off quietly. The floor length red sequined dress hugged her curves perfectly. A slit ran up to her mid thigh. The back of the dress plunged to just above her tailbone showing off his brand, "PROPERTY OF JOKER". Her silver strapy stilettos peaked out under the dress. The Joker gulped and tried to gain composure. When was the last time he saw her look so beautiful? He strode over to the vanity and touched up his greasepaint.

"Well, what do ya think, daddy?", she twirled around.

"What do I think?", his tone emotionless.

"Don't ya like it?", she felt her face flush as she looked down at her dress.

The Joker rolled his jaw as he looked her up and down. "Harley, how is it that after all this time, you still manage to make me weak in the knees?", and with that he swooped her close and dipped her as he covered her neck in kisses. She squeaked and giggled. He stopped and pulled out his pocket watch to glance at the time. Then proceeded to push her against the wall and continued to kiss her. She let out a little moan and he grunted as he pulled away.

"Who do you belong to, Harley?", he growled into her ear.

She shivered, "To you, Mista J. I'm all yours"

"That's right, princess. Let's go. Don't want to be late to the ball."

Joker led Harley to the car that was idling out back. He held the back door open for her and held her hand as she slid in. He walked around the car and sat next to her. She gazed at him and thought about how handsome he looked tonight in his classic purple suit, pale green dress shirt, and violet tie. He lit a cigarette and cracked the window to let the smoke billow out. As the driver drove through the alley, Harley pondered her question for a moment before she asked, "Where are we goin' tonight, Puddin'?"

"We received an invitation to attend the opening of Oswald Cobblepot's restaurant.", He rolled his eyes as he said this. He was not a big fan of The Penguin himself, but you have to network when you can.

"Oh. There's gonna be a lot of people there, huh?"

"Yup.", he flicked his cigarette out the window. He looked over to her and the streetlights bounced off her milky skin giving him butterflies. He reached over and traced a scarred 'J' on her left arm and smirked. She lifted his fingers to her mouth and kissed the nicotine stained tips. He rested his hand on her exposed thigh the rest of the way.

They pulled around the back of The Iceberg Lounge and someone came to open both their doors. Several other cars were pulling up and receiving the same treatment. The Joker held out his arm for Harley and she bounced over and wrapped her hand around his bicep. He led her into the back entrance. There were already fifty or so people sitting down at small tables throughout the dinning area with many more coming in with them. The room was large and slightly dim. The tables and decor were white and silver with hints of gold. Tall marble pillars reached to the ceiling. The dance floor in the center of the room was white with iridescent flecks. A large bar with clear stools took up the length of the other wall. Harley looked around and didn't recognize most of the people. It looked like mostly mobsters with young floozy women hanging off them. Some guests were recognizable like Killer Croc who was sitting alone with fork and knife already in his hands.

"Hey stranger", a voice came from behind Joker and Harley. They turned to see Harvey and Ivy. The two had been on again, off again for several months. They must be on again right now.

"Harv." The Joker shook his hand.

"Hi honey!", Ivy hugged Harley.

"Red!" Ivy was Harley's best friend since she she started this new life with The Joker. They saw each other fairly often even if The Joker despised her.

"Weed.", The Joker nodded at her.

"Clown.", Ivy nodded back.

Harvey took Harley's hand and gave it a brief kiss, "Good evening, beautiful."

"Harvey.", she smiled back. Harvey was the only one The Joker would let get away with something like that. The two men had become quite close. Still, The Joker's arm slipped around her waist.

A tall woman in a tight white dress walked up to the four and led them to a table across the room. Eyes glanced up at the group and Harley heard whispers, hearing the word "pathetic" as she walked by. The Joker was the most feared criminal in Gotham and it was unusual for people to see him out for pleasure. As Harley glanced around she noticed floozy women giving her odd looks, some of them shaking their heads almost sympathetically. They reached their table and Harley sat across from Ivy and next to Joker. The waitress took their drink orders. Harvey and Joker started talking business.

"Um, Red?", Harley said to Ivy.

Ivy looked up from the small menu with a disgruntled look. "How hard do you think it will be to get a fruit salad in this place?", Ivy said half to herself.

"Red! People are-, they're staring.", Harley said in a loud whisper.

"Well it's not everyday, sweetie, that these these scum see The Clown Prince of Crime and his maimed princess.", she winked. "They talk about you, you know. About what he does to you.", she spoke in a whisper with the menu blocking her words from their men.

Harley sat back and looked around biting her lower lip. She supposed she did look a lot different from these perfect women. While they spent thousands to get rid of a freckle, Harley barely gave a second thought to the hundred or so scars she'd been given over the half year she has been with The Joker. She loved the way she looked because he loved the way she looked. He only seemed more infatuated with her the more he claimed her.

Their drinks came to the table and The Joker put his arm around the back of Harley's chair. His eyes skimmed the room as he sipped his scotch. As he made eye contact with people they immediately looked away. Harley's hand made its way to rest on his leg under the table and he reached up to gently play with the hair on the nape of her neck making goosebumps.

A live band was playing in the corner of the club, light jazz. As hors d'oeuvres started being served around the room, the band began to play a livelier version of swing. Couples began to make their way to the center of the room to dance. Harvey grinned at Ivy and took her hand. As they headed toward the floor Harley heard Ivy tell him, "Don't think you get to lead the whole time, mister.". Harley chuckled. She looked to Joker wondering if he would ask her to dance. Sometimes he would swing her around or dip her at home, but they had never danced in public. He glanced at her out of the side of his eye and cleared his throat. He leaned in to her ear, "Baby, sit tight. Daddy's gotta go see Nigma for a few. Don't move" He kissed her cheek and went to find Ed. Harley sighed and stirred her pink fruity drink with the straw. Almost everyone was mingling or dancing as she sat alone. She felt more eyes on her and for the first time in a long time she began to feel uncomfortable and wished she had brought a shawl to cover her shoulders with. She heard the chair next to her scoot back and she turned with a smile to greet Joker again. However, it wasn't him, it was Jonathan Crane. She sighed. She had known Jonathan for years, long before he was Scarecrow and she was Harley Quinn. He was a sort of mentor to her in college. She always felt a bit uncomfortable around him, though, he always stared at her too long.

"Hello, Harley."

"Jonathan."

"I saw you sitting here all alone and thought you might like some company."

"Mista J will be right back, Jonathan. He just had to talk to someone really quick. He wouldn't want you here with to me."

"My, my, your Mister J is certainly a little possessive, isn't he?", he eyed her scarred arms.

"What gave it away, Crane?", she asked sarcastically.

Jonathan glanced around the room. "Well, I'm not seeing him. I don't think he'll be back for a while. He wouldn't want you alone with these animals in the room.", he gestured an open arm to the restaurant. "He would probably appreciate someone keeping an eye on you."

Harley shifted in her seat and looked around the room. She did notice a lot of side glances from people around her, but didn't see The Joker anywhere. 'Where could he have gone?', she wondered.

"I could ask you to dance. He certainly couldn't be upset that you're enjoying yourself at a club now could he? He wouldn't want you to be bored. He isn't cruel, right?", he stared intensely into her eyes.

"Well, no, he isn't cruel, but..."

"Well what's the problem? One dance between old friends! You'll be back to your table before he even realizes you were gone."

She glanced around the room and decided she could use a distraction and The Joker certainly wasn't interested in dancing. She ignored the bad feeling in her stomach and gave a subtle nod. He grinned and held out a hand. He led her to the floor just as the music transitioned from fast to slow. Couples got closer and swayed together.

"Um, Jonathan, maybe this isn't such a good idea."

He rolled his eyes and put his arm around her, hand resting on her bare lower back across the word Joker. He held her other hand up in his as he began to move with her. "Just relax.", he whispered. She took a deep breath and her eyes darted around the room. She did enjoy dancing and although she preferred to move to a faster beat, this wasn't awful, but she certainly wasn't with the man she desired.

She looked up to Jonathan and her stomach sank. Over his shoulder she saw the face of her love and he was not happy. A gun cocked and rested against the back of Jonathan's head. Jonathan stopped moving and Harley backed away quickly.

"Well, well, well, what's happening here?", The Joker asked rhetorically.

"Mista J-"

"Shut. Up. Harley. I wasn't speaking to you."

Jonathan slowly put his hands up and kept his expression emotionless. People stopped dancing and began to stare. Harvey and Ivy ran over and pulled Harley back.

"You know, Crane, I'm not really concerned that my Harley girl would leave me for someone as pathetic as you." He licked his scars and stared at the ceiling before continuing. "It's really just... that I am sick of people thinking they can touch my property." He gestured to Harley with the gun as he spoke. "Is she not clearly marked as belonging to someone?" He walked to her roughly grabbing her by the arm and turning her so her back faced Jonathan and the crowd. He gestured to her back, "Hmm? Is your reading comprehension lacking? This is mine. She will always be mine." He shoved her back to Ivy who caught Harley before she fell. Harley's face was red in embarrassment and tears threatened to spill.

Jonathan finally cleared his throat, "Joker, with all due respect, people can't own other people in this current day. I believe in autonomy and the lady should have a choice." He spoke with feigned smugness.

The Joker doubled over in laughter. "Oh, that's a good one, Crane!", he slapped his knee. "Harley certainly has a choice.", he nodded briskly again pointing the gun to Harley. "She chooses me every single day. However, the only other option is death."

"Oh, so it's either be your little whore or die?"

"Yeah."

"Oh gee, how does she decide?", Jonathan said with feigned glee.

"Gentlemen! Please!", a voice piped from the crowd. Oswald Cobblepot made his way from between the remaining guests. "While I can appreciate your enthusiasm for Ms Quinn, I have to ask that you take this little kerfuffle outside. You're making a scene on opening night!"

"We're done here. I'm getting bored.", The Joker stated. He raised his gun and shot Jonathan in the shoulder. Jonathan grabbed his arm and yelped. The Joker turned to Harley raising the gun as he glared at her. He swiftly brought the butt of the revolver to her temple effectively rendering her unconscious. His left arm shot out grabbing her before she hit the ground. Ivy's hands covered her mouth as she squinted in disdain at The Joker. He threw Harley over his shoulder and carried her to the car waiting outback. Guests made a path for the man and stared with uneasy expressions. The room was completely quiet.

He opened the car door and gently laid her in the backseat and he let himself in on the other side. She shifted to the left and her head fell on his lap. He considered pushing her off, but instead he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and rested his arm along the headrest next to him. Close to home, Harley's eyes began to flutter. She peered up at the blurry white face above her, but he wasn't looking at her. He was blowing cigarette smoke out the cracked window. She tried to focus, but her head throbbed. She didn't dare sit up in case she vomited all over the backseat.

"Puddin' I-", her voice cracked.

He put his hand up to silence her. He was breathing heavily. The driver glanced at the couple in the rear view mirror. After a few minutes he looked down at her. She was still staring up at him with a look between fear and sadness.

"Why do you do this, Harley? Why don't you listen when I tell you to do something? Do you try to embarrass me on purpose?"

"No daddy! I would never do that!"

He shook his head. "We'll talk at home."

Harley gulped and tears fell from her eyes. She decided to give him space and she sat up and leaned against the opposite door. She suddenly felt sick. The next twenty minutes to the theater kept her in agony. Hopefully the ride would calm him down.

The car dropped them off and he went inside. Harley sat in the car for a few moments. The driver looked up into the mirror again, "Ms Quinn. It's none of my business, but you might not want to keep the boss waitin'." She took a deep breath and nodded. She went inside and could feel the tension as she passed through the living area where several henchmen looked at her with sorry expressions. One pointed to the bedroom door. She sighed and went in before closing it behind her.

The Joker loosened his tie and was lighting another cigarette. He always chain smoked when he was frustrated. He poured himself a glass of scotch. "Sit.", he growled. He pointed at the bed. Harley hesitated and then took a seat on the edge of the bed. She fidgeted with her fingers. Her vision finally focusing, but she wished she could just go to sleep.

"Jonathan Crane?", he asked with a disgusted tone and squinted eyes.

Harley rolled her eyes.

"Watch it little girl.", he pointed a finger at her and then finished his drink.

"It was nothin' Mista J! Honest. I was sitting alone and he kindly asked for a dance. When he asked me, it was a fast song. When we got out there is slowed down and I told him it wasn't a good idea, but he wouldn't listen!"

He stared at her and took a few puffs as he put his thoughts together.

"See Harley, I'm in a pickle. I like you submissive. It works for us.", he gestured between the two of them. "But you don't know how to stand up to other people. I don't know how to remedy this problem we're having. I don't like when I don't know how to solve an issue. It drives me crazy-, uh, -er." He extinguished his cigarette in his glass. "I've tried to mark you as belonging to me. I figured, what man would want a woman who has someone else's name literally plastered over her entire body?" He licked his scars as Harley absentmindedly rubbed her arms feeling her own. He walked towards her and took her face in his hands. "But the scars, they don't keep you from being beautiful." She felt butterflies in her stomach at the strange compliment. He turned her face from left to right as he pondered for a moment. "Hmm, I wonder.", he thought aloud. Her eyes opened wide in sudden panic as she realized what he was thinking.

"Mista J! Please! No, I don't want that!", she shrieked and grabbed at his jacket lapels.

"It's not really about what you want, princess. It's, ah, about doing what's necessary.", he growled.

"But I'll be ugly!"

"That's the plan, baby! But don't worry, you could never be anything, but stunning to me. You should only care about what I think, right? I'm the only one you should think about and this isn't up for discussion. Daddy knows best."

Harley thought for a moment and slowly nodded.

"Good girl.", he ran his thumbs across her cheeks where her new smile would spread.


	2. Chapter 2

"Is it gonna hurt, Mista J?", she asked as The Joker led her down the darkened staircase to the basement where his torture room was located. He affectionately called it The Pit.

"Yeah, it's gonna hurt real bad."

She whined and pulled back.

"Hey, hey, look at me.", he grabbed her at the bottom of the steps and held her close. "The same thing happened to me. I know what you'll be feeling and it'll be a whole lot nicer than what I went through."

Tears spilled out of her eyes again. "Will you still love me, daddy? Even, even when I look different?"

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Don't you love me? Do you think I'm ugly, Harley?"

His soft tone made her melt. "Of course not. I'd love you no matter what Joker. ", she said quietly.

"Well then, there ya go.", he nodded and led her into the chamber.

There were dried blood stains all over the floor. He went to the sink and wet a dingy rag. He wiped down the plastic bed that sat in the middle of the room. Propping one side up, he gestured for her to come over. She took a seat and leaned back. She had changed into her pajamas before coming down and she felt a chill in the air making her shiver or maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through her veins. The Joker hung up his suit coat and took off his holster and laid it on his workbench. He rolled up his sleeves as he began looking through his tools. He turned to her and held a sharp knife from his large collection. It was slightly serrated.

"Um, Puddin', don't you have something to numb the pain?", Harley asked as she squirmed in her seat.

He looked around exaggeratedly, lifting his palms. "Um, Harls, this is a torture chamber. I don't typically want to, uh, numb my victims." She bit her lip and looked back to her hands. "Hey," he stepped closer to her, "it's gonna be alright." He kissed her slowly and then a bit harder. Her lips opened and his tongue entered. They got lost for a moment before he rested his forehead against hers and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I'm gonna take care of you.", he whispered.

"Lean back.", and he began strapping her to the bed. First her legs, then her wrists, and finally a strap across her forehead. He pulled his lighter out of his pocket and pulled the knife over the flame for a minute or two. He looked at her face and thought for another moment. He walked back to his work bench and pulled out another similar knife. "We'll do both sides at once.", he nodded. He sterilized both knives. He pulled out a cleanish rag from a drawer and handed it to her. "When I'm done, press this across your face as hard as you can. We need to slow the bleeding so I can suture you. He pulled out a suture kit from his pocket and placed it on the table next to her.

He poured some whiskey on some gauze and rubbed her face as a makeshift sterilizer. She was still shaking slightly and her hands wiggled in their binds.

He crawled over her lap, straddling her knees. He undid the first few buttons on his shirt and was sweating lightly through his greasepaint. "Open", he said seriously gesturing with the knife. She only opened her mouth slightly. "Wider.", he nodded assuringly. She opened as wide as she could. "Tongue flat." He felt through her cheek just under her top row of teeth and he placed a knife there on each side. He applied a little pressure as the tips of the knives slightly nicked, each producing a drop of blood. "We'll count down, okay?", he asked.

"3, 2,-"

He pushed both knives into her cheeks quickly. The tips meeting above her tongue and making a small scraping sound as they clinked together. He raked both weapons forward towards himself as they exited through the corners of her mouth. "One", he said as she screamed. She threw the towel around her mouth and sobbed hysterically into it through gritted teeth. He dropped the knives to the floor as he got off her and opened the suture kit.

"Good job, baby. Almost done.", he said quickly. He took the threaded needle and began the tedious process of suturing her left cheek. Blood seeped through his fingers as he concentrated with knotted eyebrows. Harley sobbed, but feared opening her mouth even slightly. Snot and tears spilled down her face mixing with blood. It took him all of three minutes before he began the right side.

Once he finished he said "Whatever you do, Harl, you cannot open your mouth until I tell you you can." She nodded and he brought her another clean rag to hold against her face. He unbuckled her and moved her so he was leaning against the seat with her in his lap. He held the rag in place for her and pet her hair. "Shh, shh, shh-", he cooed. "Daddy's so proud of you, little girl.", he kissed her forehead as she quietly sobbed into his shirt. "You belong to me. No one will question that now." He kissed her hair.

The two clowns sat in the chair for a while longer before the bleeding finally stopped. The Joker picked her up bridal style and brought her up the stairs to their bedroom. He sat Harley on the bed, "Don't move, sweetheart, I'll be right back.", he pulled out his cell phone and walked out of the bedroom. Harley stood and walked to the vanity mirror. Keeping her mouth closed tight, her eyes widened as she saw her new reflection. The pain was almost unbearable, but she was determined to not think of the severity of it. She turned her face side to side. The stitching was slightly crude. She figured he would want it imperfect like his with some slight puckering of the skin.

Joker came in holding clean, damp washcloths and a bowl of soapy water. He saw her standing at the mirror. Sighing, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and stared into the mirror at her. "So beautiful.", he said quietly into her ear. Leading her back to the bed he started taking off her clothes. He gently wiped the dried blood from her chin and neck. Wetting the rag he continued to wipe the sweat and tears from the rest of her body. He went to his closet and pulled out one of his purple button up shirts and slid it over her shoulders. She watched him with exhausted eyes. The adrenaline was leaving her body and it left her without any energy. Her face throbbed and her head ached. There was a knock at the bedroom door. The Joker answered quietly and took a white bag from the person on the other side. Opening the bag he pulled out s small vial. "Liquid morphine. It's gonna take the edge off so you can sleep.", he said as he measured out the dosage in the dropper. "It's not going to feel good, but spread your lips a tiny bit, Harl." She hesitated and stared at the vial before forming a small opening where he slid the dropper in delivering the pain medication. "I don't want you talking for two weeks, ok? You'll be on a liquid diet. If you need to say something, write it down.", he pulled a notebook and pen out of his nightstand drawer. "If you need me and I'm not here, text." She nodded and leaned back on the pillows. He stripped himself down to his boxers and wiped of the remaining greasepaint from his face. He crawled in bed with her and watched her eyes slowly close.

A few hours later Harley started to stir. The Joker was sitting at his desk working on some future plans. He glanced at his pocket watch and saw it was time for her next dose of morphine. He filled the dropper and felt her forehead. He was relieved she didn't have a fever. Her eyes opened and he shushed her before she forgot she couldn't speak. He held the dropper and she cautiously spread her lips for the medicine. "You doing okay?", he asked as he eyed her sutures. She nodded. "Anything I can get you?". She opened her arms to him and he crawled back in bed with her and rested his head on her chest as he listened to her heartbeat. "Sweet girl."

The next day Joker stayed by her side. He kept her regimen of pain meds on schedule. He allowed her to watch movies in bed while he worked at his desk. He fed her soup with a dropper. Aside from the pain, Harley seemed in good spirits. Her fear that The Joker wouldn't find her beautiful was slowly subsiding.

Ivy had been texting Harley to make sure she was okay after Joker's temper tantrum at the Iceberg Lounge. Harley didn't feel ready to tell her best friend about the new change. She knew Ivy wouldn't understand.

After the morphine ran out he started crushing OxyContin for her to snort. There was some significant nerve pain since the surgery and some Tylenol just wouldn't cut it. She had snorted cocaine several times since meeting The Joker so she was used to the process. She enjoyed it much more than he did and he didn't like being impaired anyway. He would occasionally bring it to her if he acquired it during a job. He loved having sex with her when she was high. The Oxy worked for her and she would immediately fall asleep after a hit.

Over the next two weeks Harley's pain mostly subsided. She was antsy to leave their home, but Joker wouldn't let her until she was healed. She was off her pain meds and longed to use her voice again. The Joker had been nicer to her in last two weeks than he'd ever been. Even when they had just began their relationship together, he wasn't this caring. It was probably due to the fact that she couldn't say anything to irritate him. She wondered how long it would last.

On the fourteenth day she woke up to The Joker coming into the bedroom with a dozen roses.

"Today's the big day, Harl!"

He put the bouquet on her nightstand. She gave a slight smile, but her eyes were elated. He brought a small pair of medical scissors and sat on the bed next to her.

"Ready?"

She nodded vigorously and clapped her hands. He chuckled at her. He slowly cut the sutures out of her left cheek. She immediately felt the relief of a tension she hadn't realized was there. Then he began on the opposite side.

"Okay, take your time. Talk slowly without opening your mouth too wide. You're still healing, but it looks good."

She cleared her throat and with a cracked voice she said, "Hi."

He lifted an eyebrow. "That's it? You don't say a word for two weeks and then you say, 'hi'?, he laughed again.

"I love you." she mumbled.

The Joker smiled and gently brushed his thumb along her left cheek. It felt numb to her. The pain finally gone as the nerves had been destroyed. Now there was just a slight sensitivity on the area surrounding the deep red scars. She had a hard time properly forming her words. It felt like she just left the dentist after a root canal.

As if reading her mind, The Joker said, "It's gonna take some time, but you'll sound like yourself eventually."

He leaned in to kiss her for the first time in weeks. She tried to pucker, but her lips just kind of rested against his. She knit her eyebrows and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Don't worry babydoll, it's just gonna take some practice.", he kissed her again.

Weeks passed and the couple got back in their regular routine. The Joker was his old self again and Harley just couldn't keep her mouth closed which got her in trouble. One night after making up for an earlier argument that led to punches thrown in both directions, they laid entwined with each other as The Joker traced the letters on her back the finger tips of one hand and smoked a cigarette with the other. Harley played with the switchblade he just used to carve a smiley face into the back of her thigh.

"Puddin'?"

He grunted in reply.

"Would ya ever mind if maybe I put my mark on you? Just once? Everyone knows I'm yours, but how do they know you're mine?"

"Well, baby girl, I don't generally have women flinging themselves at me so it's not really an issue. And just remember, I own you, not the other way around.", he took another puff and stared at the ceiling.

"How about just a gift from me to you? So you'll always have a piece of me even when we aren't together?"

"That's what you want, Harley Quinn?"

"Yes, daddy."

He extinguished his cigarette on the nightstand and lifted her to straddle his waist.

"Okay, I'm ready for my gift."

She bit her lower lip and thought for a moment as she examined his bare torso. He was covered with scars of his own: old bullet wounds, marks from knife fights, and several from none other than the Bat himself. Then she smiled, her grin stretching to her cheek bones. She opened the switchblade and set the tip against the skin above his heart.

"Easy now.", he said with a chuckle and he rested his hands on her hips.

She gently slid the knife into his skin and began to cut. Moments later she bent forward to kiss the bleeding wound. She looked up to him with his blood on her lips. He smiled and stood up to walk to the vanity mirror. He wiped the excess blood away with his palm and saw that she had carved a diamond with her initials, HQ, inside. He looked into the reflection and could see her sitting on the bed smiling back at him.


End file.
